Gridiron Classic: Gameday Notes
The 37th annual U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic, the oldest high school football all-star game in New Jersey, will kick off at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Brick Township's Keller Memorial Field.
Here is all the info you need for the game, which is run by the Shore Football Coaches Foundation and game director Lou Vircillo, the head coach at Lacey:
Tickets: $10 at the door.
Radio broadcast: The game will be live on 105.7 "The Hawk" f.m. with Shore Sports Network's Matt Harmon and Ed Sarluca on the broadcast. You can also listen live online by clicking here.
Directions: Address is 346 Chambers Bridge Road, Brick. From north - Garden State Parkway exit 91. Stay right off exit. Go straight at light, follow to Route 88. Cross Route 88, go under Parkway overpass, school is just ahead on the right and field is behind the school. From south - Parkway Exit 90. School is short distance on the right from the off-ramp.
7-on-7 championship: Matawan vs. Brick at 5:45 p.m. before kickoff of the game.
Shore Football Coaches Foundation Hall of Fame: Group of four to be inducted at halftime - Bob Generelli, Bob Nani, Joe Adelizzi and Ed Sarluca. Click here for more.
Where are the stars from the game playing in college?: Click here to find out.
Game notes: Monmouth County leads the all-time series 20-15-1 and is trying to win its third straight game...This is the ninth time the game has been held at Brick, tied with Toms River North for the most times hosting the Classic in history...The head coaches are Brick's Rob Dahl (Ocean) and Ocean Township's Don Klein (Monmouth)...Brick kicker Anthony Starego, who has autism, is the first special needs player to participate in the 36-year history of the game.
Game breakdown:
Monmouth County: The offense features the top two passers in the Shore Conference from the fall - Howell's Connor McGlynn (2,123 yards, 22 TDs) and St. John Vianney's Billy DeMato (1,694 yards, 16 TDs). They also have first-team All-Shore running back Anthony Gargiulo (1,666 yards, 27 TDs) of Colts Neck, who is the only FBS recruit playing in the game, as he is headed to Navy. Also part of a loaded backfield is Manalapan running back Tyler Leonetti (996 yards, 14 TDs) and Manasquan's Joe Murphy (1,038 yards, 11 TDs).
DeMato and McGlynn each have their favorite target playing in the game, as St. John Vianney's Julanee Prince (50 catches, 725 yards, 11 TDs) and Howell's Joey Schultz (47 catches, 786 yards, 12 TDs) are both threats at wide receiver. Asbury Park's Daquane Bland-Bennett, who will line up at slot receiver after finishing with 1,005 all-purpose yards as a senior, is another weapon. Middletown North's Jake Betkowski, who tied for the Shore Conference-high with a school-record 54 catches, is yet another threat along with Manasquan wideout Joe Fittin, Holmdel's Mark Scherzer and Wall's Chris Quinlan.
A pair of Monmouth University recruits, Colts Neck's Ryan Wetzel and Rumson's Peter Righi, anchor the offensive line. Monmouth also has a major special teams weapon in Matawan kicker/punter Mike Creamer, who set a Shore Conference single-season record with 14 field goals, including three of 40 yards or longer, and also averaged 37.5 yards per punt.
Defensively, Monmouth County looks to have a strong pass rush from the edge with Rumson's Kevin Clayton (9.5 sacks), Ocean's Mike Halawani (9 sacks), Matawan's Nick Tomkins (9 sacks/Dartmouth recruit) and Red Bank Catholic's Shawn McCord (10.5 sacks) and up the middle with Manalapan noseguard R.J. Krause, although Krause could be used on offense as a tight end.
They have a stellar and deep linebacking corps led by SSN Defensive Player of the Year Chris Noesges of Manalapan that also features SSN first-teamers Dan Loizos of Ocean and Nick Volpe of Colts Neck along with Manasquan's Blaine Birch, Raritan's Tyler Jones, Mater Dei Prep's Sam Miles, Long Branch's Deon Williams, Freehold Township's Dan Weissman and Red Bank Catholic's Ryan Schoer and Frank Olmo. Long Branch safety Myson Pennington is part of a solid secondary that features Manalapan cornerback Chris Cruz and several all-around athletes like Keansburg's Kason Preston and Neptune's Shakeem Richardson.
Ocean County: Lacey quarterback Tom Kelly (1,652 yards, 19 TDs) should see the bulk of the snaps, with all-around Manchester athlete KaShaun Barnes, who also lines up at wideout, possibly stepping in on some plays. Kelly's favorite target, 1,000-yard receiver Christian Tutela, is questionable with a sprained knee and may not play, which takes away a key offensive weapon. Barnes, Monsignor Donovan slot receiver Vinny Grasso, Toms River North's Evan Sirota, Jackson Memorial's Marcus Ademilola and others who could either play wideout or defensive back like Barnegat's Ryan Ulrich and Manchester's Amani Richardson and Shaquille Benjamin will be Kelly's primary targets.
Khani Glover, a 1,400-yard rusher for Jackson Memorial, anchors the backfield, and should see the bulk of the carries. Point Beach's Sean Struncius, Lakewood's Ben Watson, Toms River South's Brendan Kelly, and Barnegat's Zach Andrews anchor the offensive line. Brick's Anthony Starego, who has autism, will handle the extra points and any field goals in the final game of his storybook high school career in which he has become a symbol of hope and perseverance for special needs athletes.
Defensively, just like Monmouth County, Ocean has a great group of linebackers, led by SSN first-teamer Ken Bradley and Brick Memorial's Jake Lombardo. Toms River South's Billy Kosh, Southern's Bailey Bellissimo, Pinelands' Mike Yak and Monsignor Donovan's Matt Post are also part of the group along with Barnegat's Greg Moran, who also can rush the passer as a defensive end. Southern's Mason Fazekas (9 sacks) is another player who can get after the quarterback.
Toms River South's Darrius Hart, a standout who is headed to Maine, anchors the secondary at cornerback along with Monmouth University-bound defensive back Jerry Caporale of Toms River East.
Scott Stump's pick: Some late defections and injuries have hurt Ocean County, while Monmouth County's offense on paper looks like it could be a handful because of its balance and a stellar backfield. These games are impossible to predict because there is such a short time to build a cohesive team, which was hurt further by two days of thunderstorms that all but wiped out any meaningful practice on those days. So much of it comes down to line play, which is hard to predict. The pick: Monmouth County.
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